PROJECT MISSION

Using Allen Ginsberg's groundbreaking poem "Howl" as a jumping off point, we are aiming to create a theatrical response to this exhilarating piece of literature that defined a generation.

In San Francisco in 1955, Ginsberg let out a cry that changed the world. He bravely gave a voice to countless young men crushed by the tyrannical foot of American capitalism and materialism in the 1950s. Thus, the Beat Generation began sowing the seeds that eventually grew into the political radicalism of the 1960s and 1970s. Although the wildfire that these men sparked forever transformed the face of this country, the flames eventually died out and we were left with – fundamentally – the same America. Walking down the same streets as those Columbia University boys did several decades ago, one can still hear that same cry reverberating in New York City in 2014. America may have loosened its tie a bit, but we are not living in the America that these young men wanted to rebuild for themselves. The cultural, social, and political landscape may be different now, but our howl is the same.

The Untitled Ginsberg Projectis an attempt to isolate this cry, underpinned by Allen's words, and create an audio-visual manifestation of this American Scream as we feel it inside of ourselves: a Howl for the 21st Century. We want to wake America up from its cushy stupor; destroy the world that we've inherited in order to build a new, better world from its ashes.

Our goal is to develop and subsequently produce a theatrical event that will unearth the heart and soul of Ginsberg's most famous poem.It feels like it is again time to give voice to these palpable – if latent – cries.